A bench in the church, a box at La Scala, a grave in the Monumentale – these were for a long time the prestige symbols of the affluent Milanese society. Like Paris, Milan is a 19th-century city, characterized by wide streets and enormous palaces, opera houses, theaters, museums, an art academy, major book and newspaper publishers, elegant bars, galleries, and fashion houses. At the same time, Milan is Italy's financial capital, a stage for political intrigues and a place for ambitious upstarts. This volume features authors representing Milan's literary tradition, including Carlo Emilio Gadda, Anna Maria Ortese, Giovanni Testori, Dino Buzzati, Umberto Eco, Dario Fo, Aldo Nove, Carlo Feltrinelli, Alda Merini, Andrea De Carlo, Giorgio Fontana, Marco Balzano, Laura Pariani, Paolo Cognetti, and Marco Missiroli.